See main article: 1970 United Kingdom general election.
| Election Name: | 1970 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland |
| Country: | Northern Ireland |
| Type: | parliamentary |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1966 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland |
| Previous Year: | 1966 |
| Election Date: | 18 June 1970 |
| Next Election: | February 1974 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland |
| Next Year: | Feb. 1974 |
| Seats For Election: | 12 seats in Northern Ireland of the 630 seats in the House of Commons |
| Leader1: | James Chichester-Clark |
| Party1: | Ulster Unionist Party |
| Leader Since1: | 1969 |
| Leaders Seat1: | Did not stand[1] |
| Seats1: | 8 |
| Popular Vote1: | 422,041 |
| Percentage1: | 54.2% |
| Seat Change1: | 3 |
| Party2: | Unity (Northern Ireland) |
| Seats2: | 2 |
| Popular Vote2: | 140,930 |
| Percentage2: | 18.1% |
| Seat Change2: | 2 |
| Leader4: | Ian Paisley |
| Leader Since4: | 1966 |
| Party4: | Protestant Unionist Party |
| Leaders Seat4: | Antrim North |
| Seats4: | 1 |
| Popular Vote4: | 35,303 |
| Percentage4: | 4.5% |
| Seat Change4: | New |
| Leader5: | Gerry Fitt |
| Leader Since5: | 1964 |
| Party5: | Republican Labour Party |
| Leaders Seat5: | Belfast West |
| Seats5: | 1 |
| Popular Vote5: | 30,649 |
| Percentage5: | 3.9% |
The 1970 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland was held on 31 March with 12 MPs elected in single-seat constituencies using first-past-the-post as part of the wider general election in the United Kingdom. It was the first general election held after the Representation of the People Act 1969 which reduced the voting age from 21 to 18.
The Ulster Unionists lost seats to the Protestant Unionist Party led by Ian Paisley, moderator of the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster, and to Unity, a nationalist organisation which had won a by-election in 1969.
In the election as a whole, the Labour Party failed to return to government and the Conservative Party, which included the Ulster Unionists, formed a government led by Edward Heath as Prime Minister. This was the last parliament where the UUP took the Conservative whip in the House of Commons, breaking with them after the Parliament of Northern Ireland was suspended by the Northern Ireland (Temporary Provisions) Act 1972.
| Party | MPs | Votes | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Change | No. | % | Change | |||
| 8 | 3 | 422,041 | 54.2% | 7.6 | |||
| 2 | 2 | 140,930 | 18.1% | 15.6 | |||
| 1 | 1 | 35,303 | 4.5% | 4.5 | |||
| 1 | 30,649 | 3.9% | 0.5 | ||||
| 0 | 98,194 | 12.6% | 0.4 | ||||
| 0 | 10,929 | 1.4% | 3.5 | ||||
| 0 | 10,349 | 1.3% | 1.3 | ||||
| 0 | 17,787 | 2.3% | 2.3 | ||||
| 0 | 7,565 | 1.0% | 1.0 | ||||
| 0 | 4,290 | 0.4% | 0.4 | ||||
| Total | 12 | 778,037 | 100 | ||||